Indian Gov’t Slams World Press Freedom Index: ‘Methodology Questionable, Non-Transparent’

In the World Press Freedom Index 2021, released in May this year, India was ranked 150th among 180 countries. The country's position in the index has been falling continuously, as it was placed 133rd in 2016, while in 2010 it stood at 122nd. Many states have previously slammed the index over bias and politicization.

Rejecting the findings of the World Press Freedom Index, the Indian government on Thursday said that the findings of the index are “questionable” and “non-transparent.”

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament, federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said: “The government did not agree with the conclusions drawn by the organization for various reasons including very low sample size, little or no weightage to fundamentals of democracy, adoption of a methodology which is questionable and non-transparent.”

The minister was responding to separate questions issued by Rajya Sabha opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) parliamentarian Sanjay Singh.

Stressing that the government was committed to ensuring the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 of the Indian constitution, Thakur said: “The Press Council of India (PCI) has been set up under the Press Council Act, 1978 mainly to preserve the freedom of the press and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in the country.”

The PCI looks into complaints filed "by the Press" regarding curtailment of press freedom, he stated, adding that the council was also empowered to take suo moto cognizance in matters on pressing issues concerning freedom of the press and safeguarding its high standards.

According to the World Press Freedom Index, India’s ranking dropped to 150th position from last year’s 142nd among 180 nations.